World News – UA – Coronavirus Australia live: Scott Morrison ambushed by pro-refugee protesters in Brisbane

Activists throw red paint on Prime Minister’s car during visit to University of Queensland Follow all the latest updates

« He had indicated to the investigation that he had not received a call It is clear that he did, » says Andrews

« I didn’t need to have a conversation to get him to do something he was going to do »

Daniel Andrews says state is still on track for more relaxed restrictions this Sunday, despite Melbourne’s 14-day average rising

But he says if mystery cases continue to decline, the state will continue to open up to social, but not yet economic, restrictions

Despite these numbers, as long as we continue to see a trend where there aren’t a large number of additional mystery cases, as we continue to see that trend sink through the rest of the week, then there is will have a new easing that we can announce on Sunday

It will be broadly in the social space rather than in economic easing, but we may be able to do more on this front in the Victoria region

In the meantime, his office has just released this statement regarding the resignation of senior official Chris Eccles

“Until last night, I understood that Mr. Eccles did not know if he had called M Ashton at that time, ”he said

They are about to have a private session to listen to an ICAC intercept phone call @GladysB has yet to hear 😐 this call is essentially too private

Scott Morrison was taken in a police car in Brisbane after being surprised by protesters taking refuge at the University of Queensland

Protesters managed to throw red paint on the prime minister’s car and protested against the government’s continued detention of refugees

#BREAKING: Protesters ambush Prime Minister in Brisbane during visit to University of Queensland @heinkealex # 9News picTwittercom / 1FIJYsDmbQ

Not one to be outdone, the Prime Minister was huddled in a police car to escape refugee activists who threw red paint on his car at the Uni of Queensland

As national elections approach, Palaszczuk is on Bribie Island announcing seven ‘satellite community hospitals’ to help state health system She says this is an ‘Australian first’

The 14-day average of new cases in Melbourne today increased for the first time in two months

NSW has only reported one new locally transmitted Covid-19 case in the past 24 hours, at 8 p.m. last night

« The locally acquired case is a family contact of a case reported yesterday, » said NSW Health « These cases are linked to two other previously reported cases, the source of which is still under investigation »

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There were 7,391 tests reported as of 8 p.m. last night, up from 12,823 in the previous 24 hours

« NSW Health calls on the community to come forward immediately for testing if you have even the mildest symptoms like a runny nose or sore throat, cough, fever or other symptoms that could be Covid -19

In NSW Icac, Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian is pressed for what she knew about Daryl Maguire’s foreign trade relations « Did you know of a case in which Mr. Maguire asked for or got a commission or other payment? « She is asked by assistant lawyer Scott Robertson » I was not aware of any specific details, but I knew he had these arrangements and assumed that he disclosed them at the appropriate time, « replied Berejiklian

We have previously heard that Bereiklian had a « close personal relationship » with Maguire before and during his resignation from Parliament in 2018

Robertson suggested to Berejiklian that she had « on more than one occasion » sought to « discourage Mr. Maguire to give you details of his outside interests?  »

« I would never, never ever close my eyes to any responsibility [or] any wrongdoing that I have seen, or any activity that is not what a parliamentarian should do – I want to that is very clear « 

Berejiklian also said that Maguire was « a big talker » who was « obsessed » with her financial situation but denied being interested in her financial situation

Kevin Rudd’s petition to organize a royal commission on the Murdoch media – which he spoke about earlier this morning – is so popular it has (occasionally) crashed the Parliament’s website

Official House of Representatives Twitter account says it’s working to resolve issues

Hello everyone Over the weekend we saw a large number of people visit our website to sign a new e-petition started by former Prime Minister @MrKRudd This spike in traffic caused some problems, which we are working to resolve https: // tco / hOrG8ZYZKw

Chris Eccles, who has just resigned as a senior official in Victoria, previously held similar roles as a senior official in South Australia and New South Wales

He admitted in a statement on Monday that he spoke on the phone with former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton the day the decision was made to use private security companies to provide quarantine hotels

He had previously testified at the inquest investigating the failed hotel quarantine that he did not recall speaking to Ashton

The discussion between the two took place in a critical six-minute window in which, according to Ashton’s texts released to the inquest, the decision was made for safety, rather than safety. police, to guard the hotels Eccles said he did not have his phone records at the time he testified, but that these tapes indicated the men spoke on March 27

In the statement, Eccles reiterated that although he spoke to Ashton that day, he had not made the decision to install private security guards in the quarantine hotels. This means that the key question of who made the decision, described as a ‘creeping hypothesis’ by the investigating lawyer, remains unanswered

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told the Independent Corruption Commission that she had « a close personal relationship » with former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire when he was forced to resign from parliament in 2018

Maguire is under investigation by Icac for allegedly abusing his public office in the pursuit of his own financial interests, in particular a company called G8way International Pty Ltd

Berejiklian was forced to appear after it emerged that Maguire gave her direct email address to race heiress and real estate developer Louise Raedler Waterhouse

But in the opening salvos of this hearing, we heard that Maguire and Berejiklian were involved in a « close personal relationship » before he was forced to resign The relationship was kept private from fellow parliamentarians, she told Icac, as she is « a very private person » and « didn’t think the relationship had enough substance to be made public »

Berejiklian said she kept in touch with Maguire after he was forced to resign “He was someone in a very bad state [and] after having known him for 15 years, I felt I had to check on her well-being, ”she said

Read more about Chris Eccles’ statement The official says he is’ adamant ‘that neither he nor the PMO made the decision to use private security in the quarantine of hotels

But he admits to actually calling Police Commissioner Graham Ashton – which was in dispute and was questioned about during the investigation

It is also with clarity that I reaffirm the evidence I provided to the Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 Hotel Quarantine and the Ministry’s concluding observations to Council

My testimony is categorical that neither myself nor the Prime Minister’s and Cabinet’s departments made the decision to use private security as part of the hotel quarantine program

I testified that although I could not recall whether I telephoned former Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton in response to a text he sent me at 1:16 p.m. on March 27, 2020, In addition, I may have testified that even though I did not remember calling Mr. Ashton at that time my usual practice was to go back to the then Chief Commissioner when he contacted me

In cross-examination, I provided an answer to a related question which was inconsistent with all of my testimony and the meaning I intended to convey It was not my intention, as I believe that my written statement and other oral testimony made it clear At the time I testified, I did not have my complete telephone records in my possession

Following a request from the commission of inquiry on Saturday October 10, 2020, I requested detailed telephone records from my telecommunications operator These recordings show that I called Mr. Ashton at 1:17 p.m. and spoke with him for just over two minutes At no time before October 10, 2020, did the Commission request access to these telephone records, and they were not in my possession before

Phone records do not in any way demonstrate that I, or indeed anyone within DPC, made the decision to use private security in the hotel’s quarantine program

I am absolutely certain that I did not communicate to M Ashton no decision regarding the use of private security, as I was not aware that such a decision had been made and I certainly had not made such a decision myself

There has been a lot of comment and speculation as to whether I or someone else at DPC spoke to M Ashton during this short period on March 27 It is now obvious that I have done « 

Some big news from Victoria Chris Eccles, who is the Secretary of the State Department to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, has just resigned

In a statement, he said staying in office « would be a significant distraction » to the state’s ongoing containment efforts against Covid-19

#BREAKING Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary Chris Eccles has resigned, with immediate effect More info via @AAPNewswire

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Gladys Berejiklian, Daryl Maguire, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Prime Minister, Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division), New South Wales